SOUTH OF IRELAND AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP:THE GIANT waves pounding the beach told the story. So too the perilous state of the flags by the clubhouse, as the wind threatened to reef them from their poles.
Yesterday’s second round of the South of Ireland Amateur Championship, the last domestic major of the season, was a true test of attrition, with the virtue of patience as important as any ability of players to keep the ball low amidst the dunes on the Old Course.
On a day when balls were frequently blown off greens by an invisible force, as if forming part of a David Copperfield act, the weather – and a freakish preponderance of matches extending to extra holes – meant for a long and often frustrating time on the links.
Indeed, the last match, which featured Irish Close champion Pat Murray of Limerick, started not long before the evening Angelus.
But at least the officials, to their credit, managed to keep the event going without any need for suspensions during the day as the strong winds left the course barely playable.
Players were buffeted by a wind which caused balls to oscillate on greens and, in a number of cases, actually get blown off the putting surfaces.
One man glad to have found the sanctuary of the clubhouse was Niall Kearney, the defending champion.
Kearney, who has added the Brabazon Trophy – the English Amateur Open strokeplay – title to his CV since he claimed the South here a year ago, was very nearly the victim of the biggest upset of the day before he conjured up a win at the 20th over Cork’s Alan Harrington.
“I got out of jail,” remarked Kearney, aware of just how close he had come to defeat.
In fact, Kearney was four down with six holes to play and still three down with three holes remaining before using his get out of jail card in his first match in defence of the title, as the elite players were exempt from Saturday’s first round.
Yet, it was Kearney’s experience on the short 11th hole – with the old hole rather than the new one in use because it was the deemed the green had greater protection from the wind – that for a time must have left him wondering if his defence of the title would be short-lived.
Having missed the green with his tee-shot, Kearney pitched back onto the putting surface . . . . and was preparing to make his par putt when the wind moved his ball off the green and into a bunker.
The upshot was that Kearney lost the hole, and having also lost the ninth and 10th to birdies from Harrington, found himself three down.
By the time he walked off the 12th green, he was four down.
Kearney, though, produced evidence that he was in the mood for a fight when he won the 13th with a birdie and the 14th by holing a 15-footer for par.
However, having reduced the deficit to two holes, the 21-year-old from The Royal Dublin club lost a ball on the 15th and found himself with his back firmly to the wall.
But Kearney reeled off three holes in a row to force sudden death.
First, he got up and down from a bunker on the 16th for a winning par; he then won the 17th with a double-bogey six after Harrington put a ball into the reservoir off the 17th fairway, and a par was enough to capture the home hole.
Kearney finished the job with a winning par at the second tie hole to book a third round meeting with Lucan’s Richard O’Donovan who also required an extra hole to beat Hollystown’s Lorcan Costelloe.
All four of Ireland’s European championship team competing managed to win their matches yesterday, with Kearney getting the biggest scare.
Cian Curley won by two holes over Emmet Leahy; Dara Lernihan was a 3 and 2 winner over Pio O’Leary; and Simon Ward, the champion here in 2006, was a 3 and 2 winner of Graham Nugent.
And Murray, despite being the last man off, ensured that he got the job done with an impressive 7 and 6 win over Daniel Hallissey.
Irish youths champion Keelan McDonagh also negotiated his way safely into the third round, with a 4 and 3 win over John Greene.
